After a fairly lengthy spell of very few notable Wii U retail releases, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate arrived in Europe on 22nd March as Capcom's latest attempt to popularise the series further in the West. It seemed to help, with the game being attributed as part of the reason for a Wii U sales spike and with the title (both Wii U and 3DS) earning 7th place in the UK all-format chart in its debut week. All positives for Wii U in particular, after a lengthy period of bad sales news.

We did see Capcom's title drastically fall to 39th in the UK charts in its second week, however, and it's emerging that there are serious stock issues around Europe. We've heard of examples where stores had limited stock to just about cover pre-orders, and others that have been out of copies for a while. The situation is noticeable enough that Satoru Shibata, President of Nintendo of Europe, posted the following tweets a couple of days ago.

[Shibata] I'd like to apologise for the current stock shortage due to high demand of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate at retail. (1/3)

It's difficult to determine whether the plummet in the UK charts was a result of lacking stock or loss of momentum, but there are clearly issues throughout Europe. With Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate currently carrying the flag for Wii U alongside LEGO City Undercover, this situation can't be resolved quickly enough.

Welsh ex-pat Tom is responsible for the day-to-day running of the site. He's the guy to thank for the generally brilliant nature of the content which massages your eyeballs on a daily basis. Also has an unhealthy obsession with all things Bowser.

@TOMBOY25 I did mean the games It also got some sort of "premium" edition over here, with a stickerset for the gamepad / wiimote and a screen protector. And we still got plenty of games left although they sold extremely well.

did they think more people would get digital copies? do they not realize that the majority of people do not want downloadable games because they have a play once and then sell mentality? i'm not one of those people but still...

@exile20 There will become a point where I feel I've put enough hours into it and will want to move on. There is also the chance I'll hate it. The demo didn't convince me at all but I'm assured it was not a good indication of how the actual game is.

noxia, im new to monsster hunter and that demo was the first tasste i had of it and i must say the deo definitely gives off a different impression of the game than it actually is. the game itself is so great, im glad i took the chance

The demo definitely doesn't give a very good impression of the overall game. Although as someone whose completely new to the franchise, the demo held enough interest for me to actually buy a copy and I don't regret it at all. It's pretty much all I've been doing for my spring break.

I've played the game 30+ hours and still feel like a newb ha ha, but it is addictive nonetheless. Though sometimes it can be frustrating. Anyone bored with the system owes it to themselves to buy this game.

This is their consumer telling Nintendo that they are not ready to commit to their downloadable view of the future. I cannot blame them. IMO why pay £50 online for something you will never physically own [and is only yours to keep so long as Nintendo see fit] when you can track down a physical copy for closer to £30 in the shops and then do with it as you see fit?